Foldable chair



Feb. 26, 1952 c, o, LARSON 2,587,176

FOLDABLE CHAIR Filed Oct. 2'7, 1945 2 SHEETSSHEET l IN V EN TOR. 66 6&4/26 0.57 5070 l 26, 1952 c. o. LARSON 2,587,176

FOLDABLE CHAIR Filed Oct. 27, 1945 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented Feb. 26,1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF ICE Application October 27, 1945, SerialNo. 625,065

12 Claims. (Cl. 155139) This invention relates to a folding orcollapsible chair.

Among the objects of the present invention is to provide such a chairwherein the frame members of the chair are hinged together by means of asimple type of hardware and in a manner such that the chair may be madeof standard out lengths of supporting material suchas wood bars orshapes suitably screwed or nailed together in certain parts and thenpivotally and foldably attached by means of hardware connections.

Another object of the invention resides in providing such a chair whichincludes a back and arm supports wherein the arm supports and back areadapted to fold into substantially a common plane.

. Yet another object of the invention resides in providing such a chaircomprising a seat, a back, arm supports, and front legs all of which areadapted to fold substantially into a common plane.

Yet another object of the invention resides in providing a chair havinga seat, a back, arm supports, and forelegs, wherein the back is securedto the seat members by means of a detachable pivotal connection whichpermits the back bodily to swing relatively to the seat into asubstantially common plane with the seat and wherein likewise the armsupports when unfastened from the back will swing into a common planewith the back and seat.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from a perusalof the following specification when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of one type of my completedchair;

Figure 2 is a collapsed or folded view of the same;

Figure 3 is a perspective view with the fabric covering removed from theback and seat; and

Figure 4 is a side view showing the chair open in full lines, and incollapsed position in dotted lines.

Referring now to the'drawings in detail, and particularly with referenceto Figure 3, the chair comprises a pair of side frame members 2 and 4preferably formed of wood. These members are preferably elongated andmaintained in spaced apart relation by a forward transverse strut or bar6 and a rear cross bar 8. The cross bar 6 is preferably fastened to thetwo laterally extending side seat bars 2 and 4 by means of nails orscrews. In addition, at the corners of the junction of the bar 6 and thetwo cross bars 2 and 4 there are right angled or L-shaped rigid cornerfastening means that are fastened through one leg thereof as at l2 tothe bars 2 and 4 and through th opposite leg to front bar 6. Inaddition, the rear cross bar 8 is secured to thetwo side bars 2 and 4 bynailing or screwing through the meeting faces of the ends of the boards2 and 4 and the ends of the bar 8 and also by utilization of L- shapedrigid corner bars I4 which are fastened as at l6 through one leg thereofinto the bars 2 and 4; and through the other leg l8 thereof into theends of the bar 8., Thus a rigid square frame for the seat is produced.The rear ends of the bars 2 and 4 are provided with pivotal pins 20 and22 and on these are pivotally mounted the two wheels 24 and 26 and 28and 30, there being spacing means or a sleeve surrounding the pin 20whereby the rear end of the seat support may roll along the ground. Itwill be seen that the rear end inclines downwardly when the chair is inopen position. The chair is supported by means of a pair of front legs32 and 34 which are pivotally mounted as at 36 to the side members Z-and4 of the seat. These legs are securely braced by means of front crossbars 38 and 40. The bar 38 is held in place by suitable nails or screws42 and 44 which are secured into the legs 32 and 34 respectively, andthe upper bar 40 is nailed as at 46 and 48 to these same leg members 32and 34. The legs preferably lie on the outside of the side members 2 and4, and the front of these side members, as at 50, is preferably roundedfor ornateness. A pair of hooks 52 and 54 are hooked as at 5B and 58 tothe underside of the front bar 6 and the hooks of these members engagein eyes 60 and 62 screwed into the front. face of the upper cross bar 40whereby when these hooks engage in the eyes the front legs are engagedin the position shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4, but when these hooks arereleased, the front legs may be swung rearwardly, as shown in dottedlines at 62, upwardly into a plane substantially that of the bars 2 and4. The bottoms 64- of the legs'are cut on a bevel, as shown, so thatthey may lie flat when the legs are in open, forwardly angular position.

A back is provided which comprises a pair of parallel bars 66 and 68,preferably of wood, suitably cross braced as at 10 and 12, the crossbars 10 and T2 lying at the top and bottom and between the bars 66 and68 being fastened thereto in a manner similar to that in which the bars6 and 8 are fastened between the side bars 2 and 4, and additionally theL-shaped rigidifying bars 74 and 16 are utilizedv at the corners of thetwobars 66 and 68 and 1!} and I2. The bottom ends of the bars 56 and 68are mounted as at 18.

In order to provide a shiftable pivot for these bars and for securingthem pivotally to the side bars 2 and 4, I provide a pair of hardwaremembers each comprising a pair of fiat metal strips 38 having spacedperforations 82 one of which, the lowest one illustrated, is providedwith a cross pin 8-.- Which threadedly engages the threaded openings inthese strips 8! and holds them to: gether in parallel relationship onopposite sides of the bars 2 and 4. The upper end, or one end of theflat bars 88 is provided with a rounded I ahead 86 having a centralperforation through which passes the shank of an eye screw 90. The

eye of the screw lies outwardly and the threaded shank of the screwpasses into the lower ends of the bars 66 and 68 whereby securely andrigidly to hold the hardware members to the bottom portions of the arms65 and 58. Inasmuch as the ower cro s bar 84 ri idly nterc nne ting hetwo fia ha d e strips 0 ies l e ow th lower face of the bar 2, as shownin Figures 3 and; 4, the hardware yoke is adapted to slide along the twobars 2 and 4. However they are held in such position by means of a hook85 which hasv one end screwed as at 88 into the bars 2 and 4 and theopposite end of the hook, which isv the hook por i n f. p sses. thr ugth ye at of the sc ew eye th f ste s i to the b tt m port ons of; h arms66 and $8. In th s manner the basal port,

tions of the upstanding ar lib-an 68 are niv otally secur d insubstantially a e or rigid r e tion to the arms 2 and 4 so that thebacks ma ha a slight pivota m v men r lativ to the side mem e s 2 and4.. By unbookins the. books. 236 from the. eye 90 these side arms 66 and68 are adapted to slide to the position shown in dotted lines Figure 4wherein the bottom portion there clu ing the clevis clamp 8 has shiftedal ng the rear e d. o t a sZ and and. n w pies a posi io re a ivelyclose to. the end of h se members 2 and 4. In this position the arms 66and B8 may fold downwardly substantially into the plane of the side bars2 and 4. Arm supports are pivotally mounted on the back supports 66 and68. To this end a pair of arm supports are provided, each comprising agenerally Wedge. shaped board portion 94 and 95 which is secured at itsends onto a fiat, horizontally disposed. arm o -rd 98 and 19 e e armboar s e secured by means of the rieidifyins L-sbz bed corner racke s.inst as the th rs are secured. and also b nailin or screwin o that theyare ri idly ecured to eth r. In addition the. rear ends are rigi ly h ldto ethe by means of a ross bar or brace Hi2 which is nailed or screwedto the h derside of the rear ends of the arms 98 and 100. Preferably thesupports 592 lie in notches Hi4 formed in the rear ends of thevertically disposed boards 96 and .96 to provide steadiness. The -up=per surface of each one of the boards 98 and I!!!) is provided with aneye screw m6 having the hook shank 10S pivoted thereto, the hook H0whereof engages into an eye H2 fastened on the side of the barsBE and68, as shown in Figure 4. In addition, the side boards 94 and 93 aresecured by means of pivotal pins H4 and H6, the inner ends of Which arethreaded and rigidly secured by means of the Wing nuts I I8. In asimilar way the threaded portions of the. eye bolts or screws Sit areheld to the lower ends of the side members 66 and 68 by means of thewing nut fingers H8. By releasing the hooks I'lll from the eyes H2 theside arms 98 and 00 are adapted to fold 4 or swing into a positionsubstantially parallel with the back, see dotted line in Figure 4, andto lie substantially in the plane of the seat members 2 with the backmembers 66.

The chair back 66 is maintained in erect posi tion in the followingmanner. When the back is pulled up to open position, the brace from thewheel to the arms supports this back. In order to keep the arm inhorizontal position the top board 38 is adjustable, that is, it is movedup until it fits snugly to the back frame. Then it is sgrewed tight, andthen the hooks are fastened to the back, which keeps it all lockedtight.

In order to rigidify and strengthen the structure, the side braces I20are pivoted on the pivotal points H4 and H6 and Zll, 22 of the armpivots and rear wheel pivots respectively, as herein shown. When thechair is collapsed or folded, as shown in Figure 4, these brace linksE23 will fold substantially into the plane of the side memhere .2. and.4. sho n n dot ed l ne With reference to Figures 1 and 2 it will be nted that the hem members may b f desire covered by a suitable fabric I24for the seat and 12.6, fo he. back, wh ch is a t d o er h i members 2and and h back m mbers 5 and 68 whereby o provide a f e ible seat n a flxible bac The chair c llapse n o the posi ion show su stantiallynfiisure 2.

b I the n ention is not lim t d to the t on disclosed here s and c angeandxsooe of specific set ls of const but. isfe table o other modi eswithout departin fro he spirit the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by L tters Pe tent is: v

1. A foldable. chair comprising a pair of I'QQI-r warclly inclined rearlegs forming also a seat frame, a pair of forelegs, one pivotallyconnected to each of said inclined rear legs at the front thereof, meansfor securing said forelegs in open position with respect to saidinclined rear legs,

1 a back, means connected to spaced bottom portions of the backslidingly straddling said parailel inclined rear legs and shiftabletherealong, a pair of side braces each having a lower end pivoted to therear end of an inclined rear leg and each having an upper end pivoted tothe back between its upper and lower side portions, means to hold saidconnecting means stationary withrehe t. to said nc in d rear s a a am d.means being quickly detachable to permit the back to fold substantialnto the, l n of a d rear legs, and a pair of arms pivoted to the back onthe same pivot whi h pivo a ly in e conn c the tops of the side braceswith said back.

"2.- A foldable ha r c m ri ing a p r of rea wa clly nclined rear lessfo mi g a so a sea fram a air of fo e es o e p a ly c nnect at one e dhereo o ea h o aid n l d ea legs at the front thereof, means forsecuring said 'forel ss time p s tion with re pect o sa ear less. a backp vo y m u e on vsaid rear legs, means connected to spaced bottomportions Of the back and slidi slv t d li sa d parallel inelined r arless to s iftth re lons. m ans to hold said, connectin means s ti nar wih F?" sn c in sa d cl ed rear les bracing me ns pivotally connected toand terconn ctin said rear legs and. said back, said back ein ieldablesubstantially into the plane of inc n d rea ess- 3. .A ioidable chaircompr a pair f ill-- clined rear legs forming also a seat frame, a pairof forelegs, one pivotally connected to each side bar at the frontthereof, means for securing said forelegs in open position with respectto said inclined rear legs, a back, means connected to the spaced'bottomportions of-theback and slidingly straddling said parallel inclined rearlegs to shift therealong, bracing means pivotally connected to andinterconnecting said rear legs and said back, means to hold saidconnecting means stationary with respect to said rear legs, said lastnamed means being quickly detachable to permit the back to foldsubstantially into the plane of said rear legs, a pair of arm supportspivotally mount ed on opposite upstanding sides of said back, and meansto hold said arm supports from swinging movement with respect to saidback said last named means being releasable whereby said arm supportsare adapted to swing with said back substantially into the plane of saidinclined rear legs.

4. A foldable chair comprising a pair of rearwardly inclined rear legsforming a seat frame, a pair of forelegs, one pivotally connected toeach inclined rear leg at the front thereof, means for securing saidforelegs in open position with respect to said rear legs, a back, meanconnected to the spaced bottom portions of the back and slidinglystraddling said inclined rear legs and to shift therealong, fasteningmeans interconnecting said rear legs and the spliced bottom portions ofsaid back to hold said slidable means stationary with respect to saidside bars, said last named means being quickly detachable to permit theback to fold substantially into the plane of said rear legs, a pair ofside arms each pivoted to the opposite side portions of the back betweenthe top and bottom of the back, and link members pivotallyinterconnecting each of said side arms with rear portions of saidinclined rear legs.

5. In a folding chair of the type described, the combination of a seatframe comprising parallel elongated side bars rigidly interconnected bymeans of transverse rigidifying bars, a pair of forelegs pivotallyconnected to said side bars, means for holding said forelegs in openposition with respect to said seat bars, a back comprising parallelelongated bars suitably spaced apart by i rigidifying cross bars, twopairs of straps, each strap having a circular head and a series of holesalong its length, a cross bar passing through registering holes in oneend of the straps and underlying the side bars, the circular heads ofsaid pairs of bars being in registration and being perforated, and aneye bolt passing through the perforation of the said heads into thelower end of each back bar, the length of said cross bar through thelowermost holes of said strap with respect to the pivotal points of thecircular heads being greater than the width of the side bars of the seatwhereby said back is slidable along said seat bars, and a hook pivotallyfastened to each side bar and adapted to engage the eye passing throughthe circular head of each strap whereby to hold the bottom portions ofthe back in predetermined position with relation to the side bars so asto maintain the back in substantially right angled position with respectto the plane of the side bars, and arm members pivotally mounted on theback, said arm members being interconnected by a cross support extendingrearwardly of said back, and hooks and'eyes on said arm supports andback supports for holding the arm supports rigidly in'position withrespect to the back supports.

v6. A foldable chair comprising parallel inclined rear legs forming alsoa seat member, forelegs pivoted to the front of said seat member andadapted to fold rearwardly substantially into the plane of said seatmember, means for maintain-- ing said front legs in open positionsubstantially at right angles to the seat membena back pivotally mountedon said seat member and having its'bottom portion secured to andshiftable bodily along said seat member, bracingmeans pivotallyconnected to and interconnecting said back and said seat member, meansfor maintaining the bottom portion immovable and against shifting withrespect to said seat member whereby said back is held in supportingposition with respect to said seat member, said maintaining means beingreleasable to permit said back to swing substantially into the plane ofsaid seat member, side arms pivotally mounted on said back in spacedrelation thereon, and detachable means interconnecting the rear portionsof said side arms and said back for holding said side arms in fixedrelation with respect to said back, said means being releasable topermit said arms to swing into the plane of said back and to collapsewith said seat.

7. A foldable chair comprising a pair of rearwardly inclined rear legsforming also a seat frame, means for supporting said rear legs innclined position, a back, means connected to spaced lower portions ofthe back slidingly straddling said inclined rear legs and shiftabletherealong,

bracing means pivotally connected to and interconnecting said rear legsand said back, and means to hold said connecting means stationary withrespect to said rear legs, said last-named means being quicklydetachable to permit the back to fold substantially into the plane ofsaid rear legs.

8. A chair as set forth in claim 7 wherein the means for supporting therear legs in inclined position comprises front legs pivotally attachedto 5' said rear legs adjacent the forward ends of said rear legs, saidfront legs being foldable to position substantially parallel with saidrear legs, and quickly detachable means for locking said front legs insupporting position.

9. A chair as set forth in claim 7 wherein the rearward portions of therear legs are provided with wheels.

10. A chair as set forth in claim 7 wherein'the means connected tospaced lower portions of the back comprises a pair of straps, one ofsaid straps being positioned on one side of an associated rear leg andthe other said strap being positioned on the other side of said rearleg, one end of said straps being pivotally connected to the lowerportion of the back, and a cross bar interconnecting the other end ofthe straps and underlying the rear leg.

11. A foldable chair comprising a pair of rearwardly inclined rear legsforming also a seat frame, means for supporting said rear legs ininclined position, a back, means connected to spaced lower portions ofthe back slidingly straddling said rear legs and shiftable therealong,bracing means pivotally connected to and interconnecting said rear legsand said back, means to hold said connecting means stationary withrespect to said rear legs, said last-named means being quicklydetachable to permit theback to fold substantially into the plane ofsaid rear legs, an

1 arm pivoted, on the back and supported: solely by the pivot, stopmeans to stop rotation off said arm about the pivot to place said arm insupporting position, and readily detachable latch means to hold said armin. supporting position.

12. A foldable chair comprising a. pair of rearwardly inclined rear legsforming also a seat frame, means for supporting the rear legs ininclined position, a back, means slidingly mounting the lower portion ofthe back on said rear legs to make the back shiftabie there'along,bracing means pivotally connected to and interconnecting said rear legsand said back, and means to hold said mounting means stationary withrespect to said rear legs.

CHARLES O. LARSON.

REFERENCES GITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

5 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 7 Date 1,911,127 Wasserberg May 23,1933 1,919,820 Ashleman July 25, 1933 2,040,942 Katenkamp May 19, 1936 12,449,747 Kramer Sept. 21, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date118,821 Australia Aug. 31, 1944 15 23,725 Great Britain Dec. 24, 1913172,889 Great Britain Dec. 22, 1921

